Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was clearly frustrated with the manner of Manchester United's FA Cup exit, saying that the 2-1 loss to Wolves was the "the poorest we've played".
Manchester United were eliminated after Wolves managed to defend resolutely and hit United on the counter, with United not looking like their usual selves under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the 46-year-old manager saying that "We started too slowly and played into their hands."
So what really went wrong for Manchester United?
First of all, the team-selection was not the best. This is the factor which Solskjaer might be the most at fault for, as he fielded plenty of players that were still returning from injury, and were clearly not sharp enough to start, all together. The likes of Ander Herrera, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, should have been kept on the bench, whilst Nemanja Matic should not have started this match, especially after how leggy he was against Arsenal last weekend. Instead, the likes of Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira should have started, with them putting out great performances whilst the more regular, first-team players were out injured.
Secondly, as Solskjaer said, the tempo of the passing was dreadful. Manchester United did manage to dominate the possession, but it was often too slow to even trouble Wolves, with there being plenty of sideways and backwards passes, trademark of the Jose Mourinho era. Apart from this, there was a significant lack of quality in passing in the final third, with Solskjaer saying after the match that he didn't think that they "had enough quality in the last third, enough combination play."
Lastly, Wolves were utterly brilliant. The team under the management of Nuno Espirito Santo were magnificent defensively, not giving United a single chance. However, they were also very adventurous in going forward to attack, often committing plenty of players on the counter. This was evident in their second goal, as Diogo Jota's desire to get past Luke Shaw was what eventually resulted in the Portuguese forward scoring what was, the winner.
Despite all of this, Solskjaer still remained positive, saying that "Man United in April and May always find our form. We can't wait for the challenge for this and big nights like when Barcelona come. We've got so many highlights to look forward to." He pointed out that this was just an off day, with their previous result against Arsenal being deemed as extremely unlucky due to the lack of finishing and cutting-edge on the day.
Manchester United now have some time to regroup and get themselves back in form, with the international break coming up. Their next match is at home against Watford on the 30th of March, as Solskjaer will be looking to get the side back on track.
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